What is Fantasy?

I sat on my first author panel last Saturday, and it was a really pleasant, enjoyable experience.

But an interesting and embarrassing thing happened before it started, and this is actually the second time the question has popped up. I am the only one in my writer’s group that writes fantasy, and I was also the only author at the fair and in the panels that wrote fantasy. I was asked ‘But what is fantasy? What is your book? It’s science fiction,’ and I was very quick to exclaim “No! Not science fiction!’. But blanked on what, then, fantasy is.

I completely understand what fantasy is. And because it’s something I have always gravitated towards, have always written and usually read, it never occurred to me that other people wouldn’t have the same innate understanding, whether they have any interaction with fantasy or not.

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3 responses

Thank you for the reblog! This is part one. I’m struggling with the question I’ve been getting asked lately: What is Steampunk? 🙂 I’m confusing the crap out of everyone when I try! I went to my first convention a couple weeks ago and had a blast. I’m prepping for some outfits for next year and a steam novel that’s been rolling around in my head. I’m loving your blog! Thanks for the visit to mine.

My very short answer to “what is steampunk?” is “It started as a literary genre which is like fan fiction about the era when steam power was king”. If they seem interested I go on, but that is my sort of nutshell explanation. In case you didn’t see it, I do have a “What is Steampunk” page that has a rather more long-winded explanation, but maybe it will help 🙂